More and more young women are diagnosed with breast cancer

Breast cancer is no longer exclusively a disease of middle-aged women. More and more young women are being diagnosed. This is evident from an analysis of French cancer data, published in the scientific journal Breast Cancer Research .

The French researchers analyzed thirty years of data, with support from Santé Publique France and the National Cancer Institute (INCa). The study confirms that the number of breast cancer cases before the age of 50 has steadily increased over the past thirty years.

Metro recently wrote about how to care for your breasts.

In the Isère region, where data were collected over a period of nearly thirty years (1990–2018), the number of breast cancer cases in women under 40 increased by an average of 2.1 percent per year. Among women aged 40 to 49, the increase was 1.4 percent per year. The researchers conclude that the increase is "real and significant," although the absolute numbers remain low.

"The figures are modest, but the increase is real," says Dr. Anne-Valérie Guizard of Santé publique France. "It points to changes in lifestyle, reproduction, and possibly environmental factors."

Breast cancer remains by far the most common cancer among women in France, with approximately 61,000 new diagnoses annually. About 5 percent of these cases affect women under 40. This is a small but growing proportion. In the Netherlands, 1 in 7 women develop breast cancer .

Researchers offer several explanations for the rising number of breast cancer cases in young women. French women are having their first child later on average (currently around 31) and are also having fewer children than they did thirty years ago. This means they lose some of the hormonal protection that an early pregnancy normally provides.

In addition, lifestyle factors such as being overweight, having less exercise and having higher alcohol consumption are all associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

In addition, there is growing attention to hormone-disrupting substances, such as certain chemicals in plastics, pesticides, and cosmetics. Evidence that these substances actually cause breast cancer is not yet conclusive, but French researchers consider the link plausible enough to warrant further investigation.

There's also increased awareness. Because young women and doctors are more alert, tumors are more often detected at an earlier stage, which may partly explain the increase.

Breast cancer often progresses differently in young women. The so-called "triple-negative" form is more common in this age group: a variant that grows faster and responds less well to hormone therapy. Because young patients are often in the prime of their lives, with jobs, young families, or a desire to have children, the impact is greater, both physically and emotionally.

The National Cancer Institute (INCa) is calling for further research into the role of lifestyle, hormones, and environment. Work is also underway to develop personalized screening for women at increased risk, for example, due to a genetic predisposition or a strong family history.